The Secret
by whitecrossgirl
Summary: Everyone has their secrets but Gwen's is more serious than others. Her secret, known and shared by her brother and their five best friends, was never that much of a problem for her before. They all had that secret and each were affected by it's burden. Now her secret is causing her major problems and it's all because of one person: her boyfriend Arthur Pendragon.
1. Chapter 1

**AN: I don't really know where this came from but let's go with it anyway. **

_Have you ever had a secret- not a trivial secret like an embarrassing memory or a common secret like a PIN number- but a secret which could ruin everything and everyone you hold near and dear to you? Those kinds of secrets almost seem to manifest themselves; they grow and gain weight and the knowledge of them affects everything that you say and do. _

_I have a secret. One which can and does affect everything I say and do. It controls my entire life, I'm constantly on my guard in case I let it slip and it's driving me completely insane. However this secret is one I've been carrying with me my whole life and it's not exactly secret. My six best friends including my brother share my secret because they carry a similar secret with them. We're connected by this shared secrecy and when I'm with them; it doesn't matter. It doesn't seem like that big of a deal even though it obviously is. _

_My secret never offered me that much hassle before; I was able to live like a Normal.(A Normal is what me and the guys call someone who isn't like us.) I've been to school, I've had my friends and I'm currently at university studying midwifery. A mostly normal childhood, six amazing best friends, a bright future all of which are unaffected by my secret because I was never alone. But now everything's changed; my secret is becoming more and more of a problem for me; because of my newfound bane of my existence. _

_Arthur Pendragon. _

_Yes, smart, funny, cute, cool, kind, generous, loving, treats-me-like-a-princess Arthur Pendragon. He's a Normal and he's also my boyfriend._

_I guess you're wondering why my boyfriend is the newfound bane of my existence? _

_Because I cannot tell him. I know I can't tell him about my secret because if I do that, the implications are massive. Firstly Arthur will know I've been lying to him from the day we met. Secondly if I reveal myself I'll have to reveal Elyan, Leon, Gwaine, Percival, Lancelot and Merlin's secrets too and I can't do that. Thirdly it could put him in danger and the last thing I would ever want to see is Arthur hurt or in danger and I would die before I betrayed my brother and our friends. I love him and I love them so much to risk anything happening to them but it's getting harder every single day to do what's right. I'm dying to tell him the truth when we're together. when he stares at me with those blue eyes and that slightly cheeky grin as he hugs me and tells me that he'll always love me no matter what I'm faced with a huge test of self-control as I smile back and kiss him and tell him that I'll always love him when my treacherous mind is screaming my secret as loudly as I can. Thankfully my mouth is loyal and my secret remains safe. But for how long? _

_I suppose I'm rambling but what I'm trying to tell you is that some secrets are supposed to stay secret but it's not as simple as keeping your mouth shut. Some secrets are too big to remain secret and it's inevitable that someday the truth will be revealed; it's only a matter of time before it happens. I suppose what I'm trying to say is that-_

"Gwen what are you doing?" Merlin asked as he and Elyan joined her. Gwen hurriedly slammed the journal on her lap shut and turned to the men, shrugging her shoulders.

"Nothing, hey give that back!" Gwen shouted as Merlin swiped the journal and he and Elyan read over the entry as Gwen tried to steal her journal back. Elyan handed the journal back over and looked at her sister seriously.

"You can't tell him. I know it's hard and I know you want to but like you wrote here, it's all our necks on the line if you tell him the truth." Elyan stated.

"I'm not stupid Elyan; I know I can't tell Arthur about me, about any of us but at the same time I need to tell him. I love him but our relationship is basically built on lies." Gwen argued.

"What's all this?" Lancelot asked as he walked into the room.

"Gwen wants to tell Arthur the truth." Merlin explained and Gwen groaned inwardly as Lancelot looked at her. While the others had accepted her relationship with Arthur after heavy duty warning about keeping their secrets safe, Lancelot however wasn't exactly pleased about Gwen dating what they dubbed as a Normal; three guesses why.

"You know you can't. He's a Normal and I know you trust him but I don't think you can trust him with this. We know because we're not Normal's, we're like you. He isn't. " Lancelot warned.

"I know and now that you've finished invading my privacy, can you leave me alone?" Gwen asked and the men left the room. As the door shut behind Merlin, Gwen picked up her pen and reopened her journal to finish her entry.

_I suppose what I'm trying to say is that sometimes, having superpowers really sucks. _


	2. Chapter 2

**AN: I wanted to do a follow up for my story 'The Secret' wherein Arthur learns the truth about Gwen's secret. **

When Arthur was a child, he'd loved superheroes. Was absolutely obsessed with them. Superman, Batman, Spiderman, the Fantastic Four, Captain America; any and every Marvel and DC comic book hero were his idols. Arthur would watch every superhero movie that was on, from the original Superman to the cheesy Batman movies and even now as an adult; that love of superhero movies remained. It was a means of reverting to childhood as he sat utterly fascinated by these heroes with their powers and villains and secret identities the same why he had when he was a child. Those heroes had taught him so much; about standing up for what he believed in, doing the right thing; that good always triumphs over evil and that the most important things in life are the people you love.

For some reason his girlfriend Guinevere disagreed. She'd never really been into the whole superheroes thing like Arthur was. She always questions everything; from why nobody figures out Clark Kent's identity or how did nobody realise that Peter Parker always got the best shots of Spiderman. Arthur would sometimes joke that we need to fix her problem with superheroes for this relationship to be happy but it was only in jest, he loved Guinevere more than anyone; she was his perfect woman. Smart, fun, caring, stunning and made him happy like nobody else.

Except…

Arthur was a lot of things he wasn't not stupid. He knew when he was being lied to. Gwen had been keeping something from him. Arthur knew Gwen struggled to confide in people but he had always put that down to her shyness however now he wasn't so sure. She frequently checks her phone or she'll leave the room to text someone. Arthur did trust her but he wished she knew that she could tell him anything. He loved her and nothing would change that.

_Beep. Beep. Beep._

Arthur walked into the kitchen in time to see Gwen's phone buzz with an incoming text message. Gwen had just come back from class and was in the shower getting ready to head out that night. Arthur glanced at the phone and the temptation overtook him as he picked up the mobile and opened the text message from someone called Lancelot.

_I know you want to tell him but you can't. If you do everything we have will be ruined and you know that. We'll talk about this tonight._

"What the…?" Arthur muttered as he reread the message and looked at other messages from different numbers in Gwen's phone. Some were from her brother, Elyan and other names cropped up; Merlin, Gwaine, Percival, Leon, Lancelot and all the messages contained variants of the same warning as the one from this Lancelot. Each was advising Gwen not to tell him something or that they would meet up. As Arthur looked at the dates and times, he began noticing a pattern. Wednesday nights was a common meeting time but Gwen told him she had basketball on Wednesday nights. Saturday afternoon she claimed she was shopping with some of the women on her midwifery course. Tonight Gwen had told him she was meeting up with some old friends from secondary school to get a meal and see a film. But she wasn't. She was lying to him, going behind his back to meet up with these different guys. The only one Arthur could justify was Elyan; Gwen always told him when she was seeing her brother. But who were these other guys? Why was she seeing them?

Arthur's confusion turned to anger as he realised why. Gwen was cheating on him and not just with one guy but at least half a dozen! Arthur thought Guinevere loved him like he loved her. He must have thought wrong. Arthur could hear the loud whirring of the hairdryer as he stood in the kitchen and a few moments after it stopped, Gwen walked into the kitchen and stopped at the sight of Arthur holding her mobile phone in his hand.

"Arthur, what are you doing?" Gwen asked, panic beginning to brew in her mind. None of her messages mentioned her abilities but she couldn't be sure that none of the others had mentioned it by mistake.

"I think the better question is what are you doing." Arthur replied as he moved the hand holding the mobile and read out the text message from Lancelot. Gwen froze, was this it? Was her secret about to be revealed? "Who is he? This Lancelot?"

"He's just a friend." Gwen replied honestly even though she could tell Arthur wouldn't believe her.

Arthur scoffed. "A friend? I suppose Leon, Gwaine, Percival and Merlin are just friends with you too."

"Yes they are, you shouldn't have read my texts, they're private." Gwen claimed. She didn't want Arthur to find out about things this way. She wanted to tell him herself.

"At least I know the truth now. You've been going behind my back, meeting up with these other guys. Why? Am I not good enough for you or something? You had to see these other guys too?" Arthur demanded, she must have thought he was so stupid, pathetic gullible Arthur believing all her lies while she had her fun.

"It's not like that I swear! Arthur you've got completely the wrong end of the stick." Gwen explained as she realised that Arthur hadn't found out her secret but what he believed it to be.

"Oh I have, have I? Well then tell me the truth! If you aren't seeing these guys then who are they and why are you meeting them? Go on, tell me!" Arthur exclaimed. Gwen looked at him, her heart pounding in her chest as her stomach clenched horribly. Could she do this, would he believe her? Gwen fumbled around, trying to find the words.

"I… I…" Gwen stammered and Arthur shook his head and set her phone onto the counter.

"Forget it, I hope you're happy with whichever one of these blokes you choose." Arthur claimed. "I'm going out and I don't want you to be here when I come back!"

As the door slammed shut behind Arthur, Gwen pressed her face into her hands and began crying. What was she going to do? This whole situation was awful! This was why Gwen sometimes hated her powers! Gwen stumbled towards the kitchen table and let the tears slide down her face as she thought about who she was and how she came to be so.

Around thrity years ago a team of scientists began imaging the impossible, would it be possible for humans to develop superhuman abilities as a means of prolonging life or aiding survival in future generations? The project, known as the Excalibur Project; took years of painstaking research and development until finally, twenty two years ago six women were injected with the experiment along with an IVF injection to determine whether the experiment would be a success. Over the course of the next number of months the pregnancies were closely monitored and eventually the women came to term. Leon was born first, two weeks before the due date. Gwaine followed a week later. Then Lancelot was born two days after Gwaine. Percival arrived on the due date. The twins, Gwen and Elyan were three days overdue and Merlin arrived a week later, ten days overdue. It became clear that each infant was gifted with a superhuman ability.

Leon had the ability of superhuman speed.

Gwaine had the ability to turn himself invisible.

Lancelot had the ability to fly.

Percival had superhuman strength.

Elyan had the ability of telekinesis.

Gwen had the power of telepathy.

Merlin had the ability to create duplicates of himself.

Each of them were taught how to use and control their powers and while they had these abilities, their lives were nothing like the films or comic books. There were so super-villains plotting world domination or invading aliens or stuff like that. They were just able to use these powers, usually for fun or if it was absolutely essential. Their main priority of course was keeping these powers secret. If the truth about Excalibur ever got out, it would be likely to cause chaos. Who wouldn't want superpowers? But as far as Gwen could see, superpowers caused more problems than they solved.

Gwen was pulled back to reality as her phone began ringing. Gwen wiped her eyes and answered. It was Merlin. As soon as Gwen said 'hello', Merlin knew something had happened. Gwen wryly smiled to herself, she was the telepath but it seemed to her Merlin was a better mind reader than she was.

"Hang on we're all here so I'll put you on speaker," Merlin said and he fumbled with his phone slightly. "Alright, what happened?"

"He saw one of my texts from Lancelot." Gwen replied.

"What happened?" Gwaine asked.

"He got the wrong end of the stick and completely flipped. I couldn't tell him the truth so he ended it?" Gwen replied, choking slightly on the last word as tears pricked her eyes again.

"Where are you now?" Elyan asked.

"In the flat but he's told me to move out. I don't know what I'm supposed to do. I can't just let things end like this." Gwen replied. There was a moment of silence before Percival broke it.

"Do you love him?" Percival asked.

"You know I do." Gwen replied.

"Then I think you should tell him." Percival replied.

"Are you mental? What if he tells someone else? We may as well tell the world." Leon quipped sarcastically.

"I'm with Percival on this. I've met Arthur, he's a decent bloke. Gwen you know he'll love you no matter what." Elyan reminded.

"How can I be sure?" Gwen asked. She had been lying to Arthur but not in the way he thought. If she did reveal herself, how would he react? Would he accept her for who she was or would he just be angry that she never trusted him enough to tell her all along?

"There's only one way you're going to find out." Gwaine replied and as Gwen hung up, the six men looked at one another. Gwen wasn't just revealing herself; she would have to reveal all of them. Then again, they knew this day would come eventually and the six of them decided to go to Gwen and Arthur's to support her and let Arthur know this wasn't some sick joke.

Arthur sat in the bar moodily staring at a pint that he'd barely touched. Every so often he would glance at his phone and see the screensaver of him and Gwen before turning away. The dark haired woman working behind the bar looked at him sympathetically.

"Are you alright?" Morgana asked. The poor bloke had been staring at that pint for almost an hour as well as frequently checking his phone. Working behind the bar had taught Morgana a thing or two and this guy had ruined relationship written all over him.

"I finished with my girlfriend. We've been together for two years but…" Arthur trailed off and glanced at his phone again.

"Listen to me; I've seen guys like you before. If you love this girl then you won't just throw away two years of being together. If you love her, fight for her." Morgana advised as she turned to serve another costumer as Arthur's phone began ringing with a withheld number.

"Hello?" Arthur said.

"Don't hang up just hear me out." Gwen said and Arthur frowned. "You want to know the truth and so I'm going to tell you. Come back to the flat and I'll explain everything."

"I don't really know what you can tell me that I don't already know but alright. I'll be there in five minutes." Arthur stated and hung up. As he walked out of the bar, he missed the knowing smile on Morgana's face as she watched him leave.

A few minutes later Arthur opened the flat door and walked in. "Ok then, what is it you have to tell me?" Arthur asked as he walked into the lounge to see Gwen with Elyan and five men he didn't recognise. This had to be some sort of joke. "Who are these people?"

"This is Lancelot, Percival, Leon, Gwaine and Merlin. They're here because I couldn't tell you, I had to show you. You wanted to know why I'm so secretive, why I have to leave you sometimes, well…" Gwen hesitated and took a deep breath. _"This is why."_

Arthur frowned in confusion. He'd heard Gwen speak but her mouth hadn't moved. He definitely heard her voice. What the hell was going on?

"_I'm telepathic Arthur. Myself, Elyan, Leon, Gwaine, Percival, Lancelot and Merlin have all been born with superhuman abilities."_ Gwen's voice sounded in his head while Arthur stared at her in shock. Her mouth wasn't moving yet he was hearing every word she said. Telepathy? Superhuman abilities? Was he dreaming?

"_You're not dreaming. Let the others show you."_ Gwen's mental voice requested as she looked at Elyan whose looked at the TV remote that had been lying on the coffee table which rose into the air without being touched and began spinning in cartwheels. Then all of a sudden Lancelot was hovering in mid-air before settling himself down again as Percival used one hand to lift the sofa Gwen and Elyan were sitting on. As Arthur's eyes roved around the room, Gwaine grinned at him before fading from sight and as he reappeared Merlin created a double of himself before allowing the clone to disappear. Finally Leon rushed over and in the blink of an eye, Arthur was sat on the sofa in complete shock.

"Y-you all have superpowers?" Arthur asked after a few minutes of stunned silence.

"Basically, we don't do the clichéd stuff like fighting bad guys trying to take over the world but the bottom line is that we have superpowers. That's where I go every week; we're trained to control and strengthen our abilities to ensure we never lose control of them or reveal ourselves." Gwen explained.

"But you have revealed yourself," Arthur couldn't stop himself from stating.

"Yes we have because you needed to understand. Arthur, Gwen never meant to deceive you but come on, if Normals, everyone else, I mean, found out about our abilities, it that would cause chaos." Merlin explained.

"I suppose I can see the logic in that. But you have told me before now." Arthur said to Gwen.

"I know, I'm sorry. I wanted to for so long but every time I tried to tell you the words wouldn't come out. I only kept them secret because I love you; I couldn't risk anyone finding out in case something awful happened." Gwen explained.

"I understand. I'm sorry, I shouldn't have judged you and I shouldn't have said that stuff. I was just angry and confused. Do you forgive me?" Arthur asked as he took Gwen's hand and squeezed it tightly.

"Yes, do you forgive me for keeping this secret?" Gwen asked.

"Already done, I could never stay mad at you." Arthur replied as he kissed her.

"Well I think our work here's done." Elyan said as he got to his feet. Gwen got up and hugged her brother tightly. As they broke apart, Elyan turned to Arthur as Gwen thanked the others for coming and revealing themselves to Arthur.

"I know this is hard for you to take in but I hope you understand now." Elyan said.

"I do, it's unbelievable but at the same time, I knew there was something extra special about Guinevere. I just never could put my finger on what it was." Arthur replied and Elyan smiled at him and clapped him on the shoulder.

"Good to know, but seriously Arthur. This has to be kept a complete secret. You cannot tell anyone about us, who were are and what we can do. We're not kidding around here." Elyan warned.

"I know, your secrets are safe with me." Arthur promised and the men all left, thanking Arthur for accepting them. Finally it was Arthur and Gwen alone at last. Gwen turned back to Arthur and smiled at him.

"You've taken this rather well." Gwen commented. It felt like a massive burden had been lifted off her shoulders with the revelation and Arthur's acceptance. She knew he would understand and love her no matter what her abilities. Arthur was that kind of guy and it was one of the reasons why she loved him so much.

"It's surreal but at the same time, what can I say, I seen it with my own eyes." Arthur replied and hugged Gwen tightly to him before kissing her again. As they stood entwined Arthur couldn't help but smile as they broke apart and he looked at his amazing girlfriend.

'_My girlfriend's a superhero. How awesome is that!'_ Arthur thought to himself.

"I'll admit, sometimes it is quite awesome." Gwen smiled.


End file.
